demorathis
Super Freak
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2009
- Messages
- 1,850
- Reaction score
- 8
There were plenty of films that came out in 1977... like "Death Bed: The Bed That Eats". Just because it was released then doesn't mean it will be considered a classic today. It has to be GOOD to be considered a classic.
Phantom Menace wasn't good. The PT and particularly the Phantom Menace fails on many levels. It in no way fills the spot that Star Wars filled in our culture (an epic, clever, humorous, romantic, nostalgic, innocent adventure during a time of increasing pessimism - told by truly talented people hungry to make their mark). Phantom Menace was poorly written, poorly acted and poorly directed. The whole PT was poorly thought out, particularly when compared to the OT.
It was pretty much entirely uninteresting and void of any charm, intelligence or originality. If it were released in 1977 it would have flopped, IMO. I know very few kids who like the PT beyond the space ships and toys related to it (granted, ROTS, while massively flawed, was somewhat more tolerable than the other 2, but certainly not up to par of the OT). There just isn't that visceral, emotional connection that the (now) older generation had to Star Wars. Star Wars had a MUCH more solid bond to (and impact on) kids and adults, and I think that the PT simply rides on the coattails of the earlier films without the emotional investment from audiences. Without the original 3 films, the PTs would not have much shelf life, IMO.
Sean
The Prequels are BACKSTORY.
They would never have exisgted by themselves -- they were the back story to Star Wars -- just like all movies have back stories -- the story before the story. It is natural that the episodes 4 5 6 are the stronger story because it is the the most important part. The classic mythological structure -- the Prequesls are the mirrors of those - where Luke made all the correct choices, Anakin did not. It's a good complement to the Orignial trilogy, but if you aill criticize it, you kind of have to look beyond the superficial style in which it is filmed, and study the subtext of the scenes - but overall the dramatic structure of the prequels -- those are solid story-wise and anything else is a matter of opinion.